This is a rather expensive tea. On the label you can clearly read "tea leaves" . No mentioning of tea sticks which can be as big as cherry stems. So you are getting at least 30% less of tea leaves than you think. Usually teas where sticks are part of the tea "composition" are supposed to be boiled and then slowed brewed for a while. Method of preparation for this tea is just to brew for 4 minutes. I tried. The taste of tea is good, but first you have to fish out all sticks. I will not buy this tea again. Meanwhile, I am going to sort out sticks and try to boil them in the attempt to make them useful.